This book explores language teacher beliefs in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading instruction in the context of Chinese university English instructors. Since the 1990s, there has been a renewed interest on teacher beliefs in the domain of language teacher cognition. However, most studies in this area aim at investigating the relationship between particular aspects of teacher beliefs and classroom practices, largely ignoring the complexity of teacher beliefs. This study explores the issue from an alternative perspective by conceptualizing teacher beliefs as a complex, dynamic and multi-faceted system. By adopting five rounds of interview and four classroom observations, the year-long study reveals seven key features of the belief system shared among six participants. It calls for the holistic, complex and insider view to examine teacher beliefs in relation to the sociocultural and historical contexts where the teachers work and live.
Author(s): Xinyu Mo
Series: English Language Education
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 212
City: Cham
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Contents
List of Boxes
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 An Overview of Teacher Belief Research
1.2 Studies on Language Teacher Beliefs and Practices
1.3 Rationale and Aims of the Book
1.4 The Methodological Approach
1.5 Structure of the Book
References
Chapter 2: ELT and EFL Teachers in Chinese Universities
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Study of Chinese EFL Teacher Beliefs
2.3 ELT Reform in Chinese Universities
2.4 EFL Reading Instruction in Chinese Universities
2.5 Challenges for Chinese EFL Teachers
2.5.1 An Examination-Oriented Education
2.5.2 The Traditional Roles of the Teacher
2.5.3 Unfavorable Working Conditions
2.5.4 Barriers to Teachers’ Professional Development (PD)
2.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: A Framework for Analyzing Teacher Beliefs
3.1 Introduction
3.2 A Sociocultural Perspective
3.3 Defining Teacher Beliefs
3.4 Theoretical Foundations
3.4.1 The General System Theory
3.4.2 The Nature of Context
3.4.3 Theories of Action
3.4.4 Patterns-of-Participation (PoP)
3.4.5 Functions of Teacher Beliefs
3.5 A Theoretical Model
3.5.1 Theoretical Beliefs
3.5.2 Action Beliefs
3.5.3 Context Beliefs
3.5.4 Beliefs About Teachers’ Roles
3.5.5 The Belief System
3.6 The Underlying Assumptions of the Theoretical Model
3.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Theoretical Beliefs
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Reading for Expanding Vocabulary Knowledge
4.3 Reading for Gaining Structural Knowledge
4.4 Reading for Building Background Knowledge
4.5 Reading for Promoting Students’ Comprehension
4.6 Reading for Enhancing Students’ Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
4.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Action Beliefs
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Teaching Background Knowledge for Comprehension
5.3 Building Main-Idea Comprehension
5.4 Promoting Comprehension by Focusing on Key Details
5.5 Building Rapport with Students
5.6 Developing Language Skills for English Exams
5.7 (In)consistencies Between Theoretical Beliefs and Action Beliefs
5.8 Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Context Beliefs
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Concerns on Teachers’ Workload
6.2.1 Instructional Work
6.2.2 Non-Instructional Work
6.3 Concerns on Instructional Freedom
6.3.1 Student Characteristics
6.3.2 Assessment Practices on Student Learning
6.3.3 High-Stakes Tests
6.4 Concerns on Teacher Evaluation
6.4.1 The Annual Assessment
6.4.2 Academic Promotion
6.5 Teachers’ Sense of Vulnerability
6.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: Beliefs About Teachers’ Roles
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The Sense of Responsibility
7.3 Love for Students
7.4 Job Satisfaction
7.5 The Adaptive Function
7.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Conclusion
8.1 Introduction
8.2 A Summary of Participants’ Beliefs and Practices
8.2.1 Angel’s Beliefs and Practices
8.2.2 Linda’s Beliefs and Practices
8.2.3 Edith’s Beliefs and Practices
8.2.4 Lynch’s Beliefs and Practices
8.2.5 Leon’s Beliefs and Practices
8.2.6 Lychee’s Beliefs and Practices
8.3 A Shared Belief System
8.3.1 Being Sensitive to Situational Demands
8.3.2 Having an Affective and Evaluative Component
8.3.3 Having an Adaptive Function
8.3.4 Being Interwoven with Teacher Knowledge
8.3.5 Having a Hierarchical Structure
8.3.6 Having Dynamic Interactions Within and Across Groups of Beliefs
8.3.7 Being Related to Teacher Identity
8.4 Methodological Implications
8.4.1 Considering the Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Teacher Beliefs
8.4.2 Studying the Initial Conditions of Participant Teachers
8.4.3 Unveiling the Complex Relationships of the Belief System
8.4.4 Recognizing the Affective and Evaluative Nature of Teacher Beliefs
8.5 Practical Implications
8.5.1 Critical Incident Analysis
8.5.2 Administrative Documents Analysis
8.5.3 Academic Reading
8.5.4 Self-Observation
8.6 The Limitations of the Study
References
Appendices
Appendix 1 Informed Consent Sheet from Students
Appendix 2 Informed Consent Sheet from the Participants
Appendix 3 Informed Consent Sheet from the Department Dean
Appendix 4 The Biographic Interview Questions
Appendix 5 The Semi-structured Interview Questions
General Questions:
Appendix 6 Concept Maps of Participants
Appendix 7 A Rating Task
Appendix 8 A List of Edith’s Observed Practices
Appendix 9 Sample Interview Transcript
